Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Pencil Lead Carving

I have previously posted photographs about intricate pencil lead carvings. Most of those carvings and sculptures have been from larger pencil leads, such as are found in carpenters’ pencils.

Not so this guy . . .

His name is Chen-chu Lee and he is an engineer who likes to carve pencil leads as a hobby.

According to Chien:

“It began about five years ago. I was carving bamboo chopsticks for my children, when a friend suggested me to carve on pencil lead. So I began, and then I became addicted to it. I first carved Chinese weapons and then tried more complicated subjects.”

Chien carves carpenters' pencil leads too but he also does tiny, intricate subjects on tiny leads, and by tiny I mean tiny.

Samuel Johnson once said of women preaching that it was a bit like a dog walking on its hind legs, the wonder of it was not that it was done well but that it was surprising to find it done at all. So it is with Chien’s carvings.

I know that I wouldn't have the patience.

See what you think:

Letters of the alphabet carved on (L-R) 0.2cm, 0.9mm and 0.5mm pencil leads